The Wedding
Recap Ted worries about finding a date for his friends Claudia and Stuart's black-tie wedding. When Robin announces that she and her boyfriend, Derek, have broken up, Ted decides to invite her to the wedding and she accepts. But when Ted runs into Claudia two days before the wedding and mentions that he is bringing a date, Claudia tells him that he did not check that he was bringing a guest on his RSVP card and she forbids him from bringing a date. Ted tries to tell Robin that he will not be able to take her to the wedding, but he chickens out when he sees Robin in the dress that she bought specially for the wedding. When he tells Lily his problem, Lily suggests that Ted ask Stuart if he can bring a date. Stuart says that, of course, Ted can bring a date. Ted is excited that he and Robin will have a romantic evening that might lead to their getting together until Claudia calls to say that the wedding has been canceled. Apparently Stuart telling Claudia that he said that Ted could bring a date led to a huge argument and the couple broke up. Concerned about their friend and not wanting to disappoint Robin, who is really looking forward to the wedding, Marshall and Ted go to talk to Stuart and Lily goes to comfort Claudia at MacLaren's. Stuart tells Ted and Marshall that he realized that he missed being single. Ted tries to assure Stuart that everyone has doubts about commitment, but those doubts shouldn't keep him from getting married. But when Ted asks Marshall to back him up, Marshall tells Stuart that he shouldn't get married, that if making a commitment to Claudia wasn't easy then she isn't the one for Stuart. At MacLaren's Barney finds Claudia who is waiting for Lily and offers her fake sympathy and a lot of alcohol, trying to sleep with her. Lily pulls Barney away from Claudia just as Stuart arrives with Ted and Marshall. Because of Marshall's words, Stuart apologizes to Claudia and the couple gets back together. With a few more drinks, Claudia finally agrees to allow Ted to bring a date. The night of the wedding Ted arrives at Robin's apartment to pick her up, but just before they leave Robin receives a phone call. Her producer is calling to offer her the opportunity to anchor the news that evening. Though disappointed, Ted tells her to go to work. Ted goes to the wedding alone and Claudia shows him his RSVP on which he did not check that he would be bringing a guest. Thinking that mistake revealed that he really had given up on finding someone, Ted tells Barney that he is ready to just be single when he meets eyes with a pretty woman across the room. Meanwhile, Marshall and Lily begin planning their wedding, but they disagree about what kind of ceremony to have. Lily wants an outdoor wedding while Marshall wants an indoor wedding with a band. But at Claudia and Stuart's wedding, they finally agree on something: crab puffs. Continuity *For the first time, Lily and Barney actually high-five instead of one of them refusing to high-five the other, as they did in the and . Future References (Contains Spoilers) *In , Claudia mentions vodka and cranberry juice, revealed to be her favorite drink here, being expensive at the airport. *When Ted sees Victoria for the first time, he is alone at the table with Barney, but in Drumroll, Please, Marshall and Lily are at the table as well. *In the flashback to Robin's revelation that she was also at the wedding in Drumroll, Please, she is in the same dress that she buys for it here. * When Ted runs into Claudia on the street, she is on the phone with her cake maker, whose shop she threatens to burn to the ground if her wedding cake is not Tahitian Vanilla. Victoria was apparently on the receiving end of this threat, as she is revealed to have made the cake in Drumroll, Please. *The Perfect Bride magazine from which Lily reads the article on outdoor weddings can also be seen in . *When Robin is offered the opportunity to anchor the news, she asks, "What happened to Sandy?" Anchor Sandy Rivers later appears in . *When Barney threatens to revoke Ted's "dude membership", Ted retorts by asking how his manicure was. Barney getting manicures comes up again in , , and . *Robin is seen listing the people she slept with before Ted in , and she mentions Derek being the last one before him. After breaking up with Derek here, there is, indeed, no mention of her sleeping with anyone else before getting together with Ted in . *Ted says that Claudia is crazy after arguing with her over whether or not he checked "plus one" on his RSVP, to which Barney replies, "But to be fair, she's also hot", which may refer to Barney's Hot-Crazy Scale from . *While Marshall implies that he does not believe Ted and Robin will end up together, he apparently changes his mind by , where it is revealed that he bet Lily that they will. Gallery The Wedding.png|Ted contemplates if he'll still be single or not in three months. Claudia tells Ted he didn't check plus one.png|Claudia tells Ted he didn't check plus one. Stuart packing his stuff.png|Stuart after temporarily breaking up with Claudia. Claudia after the break-up.png|Barney almost ruins Claudia and Stuart's wedding. Claudia and Stuart at their wedding.png|Claudia and Stuart at their wedding. Memorable Quotes Notes and Trivia * This episode marks the first appearance of Stuart, Claudia and Victoria Goofs and Errors * In the wedding invitation shown at the very beginning of the episode, the wedding is announced for "Saturday, the tenth of February, two thousand and five", although the year 2006 commenced in the previous episode and in neither of these years was the tenth of February a Saturday. * When Lily is on the phone to Claudia, she says to meet her at Maclaren's, which is less than a five minute walk from the apartment. However Claudia manages to arrive, get bought a drink by Barney and nearly get seduced by him before Lily arrives. Allusions and Outside References *After Ted goes around the bride to get permission to bring a date, Marshall suggests that he do other stupid things, like "feed a gremlin after midnight." This phrase references the care instructions for the creatures in Gremlins, which included keeping them out of sunlight, not getting them wet, and not feeding them after midnight. **Those rules are mentioned again when Barney associates them with girls in . *When trying to convince Stuart to marry Claudia, Ted mentions Dr. Phil, a reality/talk television show hosted by Phil McGraw. *When Claudia and Stuart are fighting, the fight is fast forward and Stuart is seen throwing a blue remote, also seen in movie, Click. Music *Soul Meets Body - Death Cab for Cutie. The song is heard during the original airing of the episode, but the song does not appear on the DVD. *Garth Michael McDermott - Records to Your Rivals . This song appears in the DVD version at the scene when Robin gets the call from the job and she has to go. * Laundry Shop - by Fuck Band - This song is heard in Netflix version at the scene when Robin gets the call from the job and she has to go. Other Notes *The wedding plans that Lily desires -- simple and outdoors -- are very similar to the plans that Alyson Hannigan said that she wanted for her own wedding.http://web.archive.org/web/20070311072359/http://www.moviehole.net/news/2001.html Guests *Ashley Williams - Victoria *Matt Boren - Stuart *Virginia Williams - Claudia Reception * The St. Petersburg Comic Review gave this episode 8 out of 10 stars. "Weddings continue to be a great place to meet someone special. "Could Victoria be Ted's kids' mother?" References External links * * * de:Hochzeitsgast plus eins es:La boda uk:The Wedding Category: Episodes Category:Season 1 Category:Wedding episodes